Alabama

"Bacon Jam" Showcases Birmingham Talent

Tuesday night, four singer/songwriters convened at the Barking Kudu in lake view to claim the grand prize in a contest that had lasted four weeks leading up to this night. In each of the four weeks, four contestants played two songs apiece, with a panel of judges taking notes, making comments (a la "American Idol" style) and rating each performance based on Originality, Stage Presence, Vocal Ability and Overall Performance.

Typically, a night at an open mic is a crapshoot at best, with a handful of artists playing good, quality, original music, and another handful either too drunk to play anything, playing "Margaritaville" or showing off what they just learned at guitar lessons that week. But the Bacon Jam at the Barking Kudu was a different animal entirely.

First off there was something at stake. The winner of the Bacon Jam (named affectionately after the one of the Barking Kudu's tastiest and most unusual sandwich topping) not only gets the recognition of winning, but also gets a song recorded, produced, mastered and made available for download by King of the Jungle Productions in Birmingham, and that song gets placed in the Birmingham Mountain Radio rotation, and the winner gets to be a guest on Southbound, Birmingham's only radio show dedicated to local music.

What the Bacon jam attracted showed exactly why Birmingham is quickly developing a reputation for producing top-notch musical talent. There were newcomers, like Matt Carroll, and Josh Brown and Lauren-Michael Sellers. And there were seasoned veterans like Jimmy Finney and Eric McGinty. And a wide variety of musical talent and experience in between. When the smoke cleared, four contestants were left to compete for the prize. McGinty, Carroll, Sellers and John Elrod each won their respective rounds and came together for a final performance Tuesday night.

After all was said and done, Birmingham newcomer Lauren-Michael Sellers won the competition, with a dazzling performance that showcased one of the most hypnotic and engaging voices in the city. As one of the judges explained, "Sometimes, crickets are not a bad thing." He was right. No one moved, talked, or tried to sip on their drinks for fear that the clinking of the ice might break the mood Sellers had created. A simply beautiful performance.

What the competition showed was that so much talent resides right here in Birmingham, and with the next round of Bacon Jam contestants preparing now for another competition, the showcase continues throughout the summer...